Free and confidential help is available for victims of domestic violence 24 hours a day. If you need help or just want someone to talk to, please call one of the hotline numbers listed below. When you call the hotline you will be able to discuss your situation, safety, and learn more about the options available to you.

My Sister’s Place, Inc. (MSP) is the largest and oldest non-profit agency exclusively serving battered women and their children in the District of Columbia. Annually, thousands of victims of domestic violence find sanctuary from abuse in our residential programs and supportive services. Currently our programs consist of emergency shelter, transitional housing, the region’s only transitional housing for immigrant victims of violence, the Emergency Services Center, and our 24-hour crisis hotline. Combined with our community outreach and education initiatives, My Sister’s Place is committed to providing safe refuge for families in crisis.

The DC Rape Crisis Center is dedicated to creating a world free of sexual violence. The Center works for social change through community outreach, education, and legal and public policy initiatives. It helps survivors and their families heal from the aftermath of sexual violence through crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy. Committed to the belief that all forms of oppression are linked, the Center values accessibility, cultural diversity and the empowerment of women and children.

Hotline advocates are available for victims and anyone calling on their behalf to provide crisis intervention, safety planning, information and referrals to agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Assistance is available in English and Spanish with access to more than 170 languages through interpreter services.

The DC Domestic Violence Resource Directory offers a listing of community resources for victims of domestic violence categorized by type of service as well as location.

Safety Planning

Whether you choose to leave or need to remain in an abusive relationship, it is important to work with a domestic violence advocate to develop a safety plan. Advocates can help you develop a plan for emergencies, connect you to community resources and discuss your options.

As a survivor of domestic violence, your safety is at high risk at the time of escape and right after you make that decision. Please contact a domestic violence advocate and use our personalized Safety Plan to identify where to go and what to take when you decide to leave. Download My Safety Planhere.

Computer & Internet Safety

Computers can store information about what you look at via the Internet. If you think you may be monitored on your home computer, be careful how you use your computer. You may want to keep using the monitored computer for routine activities, like looking up the weather. Use a safer computer to research an escape plan, look for new jobs or apartments, purchase bus tickets, or ask for help. To learn more about Internet safety click here.

Community Resources Overview

Domestic Violence Shelters & Advocates: Domestic violence shelters have advocates on staff to support survivors and their families in obtaining the information and resources they need to gain stability and heal from the abuse. Domestic violence programs and advocates can offer the following support:

Crime Victims Compensation Program: The Crime Victims Compensation Program (CVCP) at the DC Superior Court offers another emergency housing option for many survivors in DC. The CVCP assists domestic violence survivors who applied for a protection order or filed a police report obtain emergency safe housing through the provision of a hotel voucher for a specific amount of time (usually 28 days). To learn more about this option and other assistance the CVCP offers victims, visit the Superior court website here or call CVCP at (202) 879-4216.

Domestic Violence Resources in Maryland and Virginia: To learn more about safe, confidential domestic violence programs in Virginia and Maryland please contact the domestic violence coalitions for those states.

DCCADV collects cell phones as well as baby diapers for survivors of domestic violence. We partner with our 12 member programs to give these items out to survivors as needed. The cell phones do not come with active cell phone plans but they can still be used to call 911 in emergencies. We have new unopened packages of diapers in sizes ranging from newborn to toddler. All survivors of domestic violence are eligible to receive emergency cell phones or diapers. To request an emergency cell phone or to obtain baby diapers for your child contact one of the domestic violence programs listed below: